


Change of Heart

by HerNameIsCaroline



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Dangan Ronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc
Genre: Alternate Universe - Non-Despair (Dangan Ronpa), Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Enemies to Lovers, Eventual Smut, F/M, Slow Burn, but not that slow
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-11
Updated: 2019-09-15
Packaged: 2020-08-19 09:47:05
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 12,259
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20207713
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HerNameIsCaroline/pseuds/HerNameIsCaroline
Summary: This is a rewrite of a very old fic that I never published. It's very self indulgent ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I also SUPER Americanized the high school setting.Non-Despair AU, Rated E for later chapters. Smut will come with a warning.





	1. Chapter 1

“Miss Morishige!”

Nami skidded to a halt at the sound of Kiyotaka Ishimaru calling her name. She cursed under her breath; she had been sprinting through the halls of Hope’s Peak Academy, desperate to make it to her class on time. This was her senior year, and she was at risk of being kept from participating in the graduation ceremony if she didn’t improve her attendance. 

She fixed a fake smile onto her lips when she turned to face the hall monitor, shooting him a wink as she said, “Afternoon Taka, lovely to see you as always.” He just grimaced at her before ripping off a detention slip and handing it to her, only for her to crumple it into her pocket. She swore he had a stack prewritten just for her.

“Stop being late and I won’t have to keep doing this.”

“Well, I know how much you like to see me. Don't want to disappoint,” Nami said, oozing sarcasm. Taka let out an angry huff, but she didn’t notice since she had already spun on her heel and started marching to her classroom down the hall. 

Nami Morishige had been a thorn in Taka’s side since day one at Hope’s Peak Academy. Now, nearly four years later, things had only gotten worse. She had gotten bolder over the years, disregarding multiple school rules daily, and Taka had had enough. He was thankful that by the end of the school year he would see her for the last time.

She felt much the same. God forbid she try to have a little bit of fun during her high school years, right? No matter how poor her attendance was, or how much she slept in class, _ or _the fact that she never took notes, she managed to pull straight A’s in all her classes. That’s probably why her teacher’s were so lenient with her, which drove Taka even further up the wall. 

The faculty had to get serious with her during this last year, though, because she was about to enter the world as a representative of Hope’s Peak Academy. They wanted her to be more professional, worthy of representing them. She honestly felt like she could have done without the Hope’s Peak education; it looked good on paper, but she didn’t feel like she gained many life skills there. 

Other than the general education curriculum, the whole point of attending the school was to hone one’s Ultimate ability, and she felt like she had just about one of the most worthless ones out there. Sure, it got her by when she was young, but how would she use it in a career? 

Nami was a bit of a legend at Hope’s Peak because no one knew exactly what her talent was. Rumors spread across every classroom, but most of them were so outlandish that they had to be impossible. Taka wondered sometimes if she was only at the school because someone in her life held a position of power. There was no way she got in based on her own merit.

The day dragged by painfully slow and Nami was relieved when it was finally time for homeroom. This is when she got her best naps in. Taka watched her waltz into the room just as the final bell rang, slumping into her seat in the back and kicking her feet up onto her desk. He grew frustrated at the sight of her alone, but had to give her the details for her weekend detention all the same. It was part of his job, after all. She was leaning back in her seat with her arms crossed and her eyes shut, so she didn’t see him approach. Taka cleared his throat, which finally made her crack an eye open. 

“Yes, officer?”

Taka’s jaw twitched and she smiled at herself. She knew that name struck a nerve with him, even though she wasn’t quite sure why.

“You need to be in the library at 9 a.m. tomorrow morning for deten--”

“Yeah, yeah,” she said, waving a hand at him dismissively. “Same as usual.”

She had been to her fair share of detentions at this point, and it was always the same time, same place, Saturday mornings. Taka would still give her the same instructions without fail. This was actually her first detention of senior year. He returned to his desk, fuming, and studied for the remainder of the period until the school day finally ended.

\-----

The next day, Nami actually arrived to detention on time for once. There were a few classrooms within the library that students were allowed to use for group projects, and this is where detention was always held. This time, though, Nami froze in the doorway in shock upon entering.

“What are you doing here?”

Behind the instructor’s desk sat Taka, rather than the usual teacher. He didn’t look up from his work as he answered.

“I’ve been entrusted with the responsibility of overseeing detention during senior year. Have a seat, it’s just you today.”

Nami shuffled over to the table closest to his and slumped into a seat, popping a bright pink piece of bubble gum in her mouth. Taka sighed, finally locking eyes with her. 

“No gum is allowed in any part of the school.” 

If it was _ anyone else _, it wouldn’t be a problem. None of the teachers really cared about what went on during detention, as long as you weren’t disruptive. But of course, if it’s in the rulebook, it’s gospel according to Officer Ishimaru. Without breaking eye contact, Nami slowly blew the largest bubble she could muster and popped it. 

Taka maintained the eye contact as he closed his textbook and withdrew his pad of detention slips. He finally looked down to write one out for her. She would be annoyed in any other circumstance, but she would never back down from a challenge from Taka. 

He stood and rounded his desk, slapping the slip down on the desk in front of her. Nami gave him the biggest smile she could muster while she put the slip in her pocket. The rest of the detention went by in silence. Nami did nothing but stare at the clock the whole three hours. Finally, the moment the second hand ticked over to signal her freedom she stood and left, calling out over her shoulder,

“See you next week!”

Taka clenched his jaw in anger. How could she be so upbeat about getting in trouble like this? He had to remind himself that it didn’t matter. The only thing that mattered was doing his job, nothing more.


	2. Chapter 2

Nami was _ not _ on time to detention the next week. She had stayed out late with a boy and had slept through her alarm that morning, prompting her to rush through her morning routine. She was only about a minute late, and yet again she was the only one in the room with Taka. He didn’t even glance at her when she entered; he was already filling out another detention slip with her name. 

“Really? For being _ a minute _ late?”

“No,” he said dryly, “For breaking dress code.” 

She approached his desk to take the slip, and he pointed to her collar with his pen. She had forgotten her ribbon, and the first two buttons of her shirt weren’t done up. She glowered at Taka as she snatched the note out of his hand and he had to resist smiling. He knew it was irresponsible to take delight in punishing her like this, but this had clearly been the icing on the bad-day-cake for her. He couldn’t help feeling smug.

Nami didn’t even get a break from him during the school week, since they had both Homeroom and History together. Thankfully they didn’t sit anywhere near each other and had no reason to interact. Usually. 

Nami was crossing her fingers under her desk as the History teacher rattled down a list of names, pairing students off to work on a project together. Surely she wouldn’t be that unlucky, right? She would at least get someone she didn’t know all that well, right? Maybe even Hina, hell she’d take Hifumi at this point, just not--

“Morishige and Ishimaru, your report is on the life of Izuru Kamukura,”

Their classmates snickered as Nami and Taka glared at each other. The class clown and the Ultimate Moral Compass, partners? They all knew this was bound to be good. 

Once the bell rang Nami scooped up her backpack and, without so much as a backward glance at Taka, stormed out of the room. _ I can’t catch a god damn break, can I? _ She tried and failed to forget how angry she was for the rest of the day, even though she knew the issue was unavoidable. 

She walked into homeroom at the end of the day only to find Taka seated at the desk beside her usual spot. They frowned at each other for a few beats before she crossed the room and sat in _ his _usual desk. She knew that triumph was to be short lived, though, and sure enough he crossed the room to sit beside her there instead. 

“There’s no reason to ignore me. We have to do this assignment eventually.”

“I know that, let’s just do it on Saturday during my detention,” said Nami. “That’ll give us plenty of time.”

“N-No way, that’s only two days before it’s due!”

“So what? It’s easy, who doesn’t already know the founder’s life story?”

“No, we should do as much of the work as soon as possible so we can spend the weekend refining our presentation.”

Nami rolled her eyes. “_ Please _ I could get this done in a day, it won’t be a problem. Better yet, let’s just do our parts separate. You do early life, I’ll do his professional career. That’ll make it about fifty/fifty.”

“No! This is supposed to be a collaborative effort!”

“_ Fine, _” Nami hissed through her teeth before gripping Taka’s wrist. She pulled a marker out of her pocket and uncapped it with her teeth, flipping Taka’s hand over and writing her phone number across his palm. He looked on in horror.

“Y-You couldn’t have used paper?!”

“Shut up, this way you won’t forget. Text me after school and we can arrange a meeting at the library today, okay? Happy?”

“F-Fine.”

Taka pulled his hand back and the two gave each other another hateful glare before settling into a seething silence for the remainder of class.

\-----

“What’s that?”

Mondo Owada was pointing to Taka’s hand, having noticed the black scribbles there. The two were sitting outside enjoying a snack together after school. They didn’t often spend time together, but had formed a strange, brotherly bond during their years at Hope’s Peak.

“Nothing. It’s just Nami Morishige’s phone number,” Taka grumbled, taking another angry bite of his snack.

“Wooooah, finally asked a girl for her number, huh?” Mondo clapped him on the back goodnaturedly. “Good for you. Doesn’t seem much like your type, though…”

“N-No!” Taka choked around his food, “It isn’t like that at all. We have a project together and need to meet up to work on it. You know I can’t stand her…”

“I don’t know, I kinda like her,” said Mondo with a smile. “She’s funny.”

“Yeah, well you’re both delinquents.”

“Hey, do you think she likes motorcycles…?” Mondo wondered aloud, and Taka felt his face grow hot. He hated the thought of Mondo dating her. That meant he would have to see much more of her, which would only drive him more crazy than he was already going. 

Once Mondo had to leave to meet up with his gang, Taka decided that he had officially put off texting her long enough. He knew she wasn’t the type to make any concrete plans herself, so he went ahead and texted her,

“Let’s meet in the library where you have detention, 4:00 p.m. -Kiyotaka Ishimaru.”

She responded with a thumbs up emoji and he felt another spike of rage course through his body. She really was unbearable.

\-----

“Jesus, Hina look,” Nami held her phone out to her friend. “He signed his text with his full name.”

“Oh my god Nami, I can’t believe you’re stuck with him as a partner,” Hina said, sprawled out on Nami’s bed while Nami changed out of her school uniform. “That’s gotta be such a drag!”

Nami shrugged and pulled a t-shirt over her head. Hope’s Peak thankfully only required that the students wear their uniforms when classes (or detention) were in session, especially since all the students lived on campus. That meant she could finally rid herself of that horrid skirt for the day and opt for her jeans.

“At least I know he’ll do the work. You got Hifumi, huh?”

Hina screamed into Nami’s pillow rather than answer. Nami just sat on the bed next to Hina and patted her head.

“Believe it or not I was _ hoping _ for him.”

“You were not.”

“Over Taka, yeah! Now get out, I have to leave.”

Hina reluctantly rolled out of Nami’s bed and slouched out the door. Nami really hoped that her friend would be able to survive a week of working with Hifumi of all people, but she knew the swimmer was tougher than she looked. She shoved her hands into her pockets and sauntered to the library. 

Taka was there early, just as she expected he would be. He sat stiffly at a desk, still in his uniform, with his history textbook open in front of him. 

“Hey,” Nami greeted, dropping her own bag. 

“Hello…”

“No time to change?”

“I always wear my uniform on campus, no exceptions.”

“Why…?”

“It helps keep me motivated. Can we please just get started?”

“Sure, give me a minute.”

She turned and left the room, hands in her pockets. Taka’s expectations had been low to begin with, but she had still managed to surprise him. Just as he was wondering why she had even bothered showing up at all and started to consider leaving, she returned, arms full of books.

“W-What are those…?”

Nami quirked an eyebrow at him. “... Reference books? I assume you want our answers to be correct, right?”

“I thought you said you knew all this already,” he bit back.

“It’s a _ history _assignment, we should at least fact check. Did you get hit in the head or something?”

Taka flushed as she pulled their desks together, facing one another, to form a larger table between them.

“I thought you had just left entirely.”

Nami looked at him in disbelief. “You really think I’m that big an asshole?”

“I’ll get back to you on that…” Taka trailed off, smile pulling at his lips. Nami rolled her eyes at him, but also smiled a little to herself as she cracked a book open. At least she had a partner that was going to take this seriously. She was known for being a slacker, but her classmates weren’t aware of how much work she really put in. She always did her assignments, she just did them quickly and perfectly. She had picture perfect memory, so if she learned it once she would know it forever. That made school much easier.

Taka meanwhile didn’t believe that natural genius was good for anything. He saw first hand how far someone could fall if they relied on nothing but natural ability. He knew people needed to work hard and _ earn _ their place in life, otherwise they would be left with nothing after it all came crashing down.

The two worked in almost complete silence. They agreed that they would split the work between Kamukura’s early life and professional career like Nami had suggested and wrote down bullet points and page numbers to cobble into one presentation together later that evening. They worked straight through dinner without either of them really noticing; once they got into the groove of working, neither Nami or Taka seemed to notice the passage of time. 

“Nami? There you are!”

Hina’s voice made Nami jump and look to the doorway. Hina was there with Sakura and a takeaway box of food.

“Hi, guys. What’s going on?”

“You worked straight through dinner again, so we brought you some food. You two should really take a break, it’s already eight o’ clock!”

“Jeez, really?” Nami glanced down at the clock on her phone while she scooped up her belongings. “She’s right. Taka?”

“Huh?” Taka had been watching the whole exchange quietly. He didn’t have any friends that would have come to check up on him if he were missing. Maybe Mondo, but he was always busy with his gang… The whole interaction was foreign to him.

“We’re just about done, how about we just finish up and practice the presentation on Saturday during detention.”

“Sure, that should be fine.”

Nami swung her backpack over her shoulder and waved goodbye to Taka as she joined her friends, leaving him sitting alone in the dim classroom. He felt an odd sting of jealousy. Four years of high school and he only had one friend to show for it. 

Taka solemnly gathered up his things too, wondering to himself how exactly the other students seemed to socialize with one another so naturally. That kind of thing had never come easy to him. He didn’t really know how to make conversation, and he had nothing in common with his classmates. He didn’t waste time with television, movies, video games, or anything else like that. If he had a spare moment, he was studying.

Now that he was in senior year and his chance to make friends was all but gone, he wondered if it was all really worth it. 


	3. Chapter 3

The following Monday came and went with no problems. Nami and Taka both knew their presentation backwards and forwards, and Taka hated to admit that he was actually impressed with Nami’s performance. He still had a feeling that things would be right back to normal after they were no longer partners.

“You and Taka sure seemed to work well together,” Hina teased as she and Nami walked to their next class together. Nami gave her a confused look.

“I guess? I just wanted to pass the assignment.”

“_ Sure. _ So what, you two haven’t called a truce or anything after this?”

Nami gave Hina a deadpan stare and pulled out a permanent marker. She knew full well that Taka would be walking behind them, and that he had full view of her doodling something directly on the school wall.

“_ Miss Morishige!” _

Nami gave Hina a triumphant look and accepted her detention slip from Taka without even looking at him before the two girls meandered to their next class. Taka was confused. Her actions never seemed to make any sense, but that seemed to be blatantly on purpose, just for her to be caught by him. Surely she just wanted to torture him. 

Things went on like that for weeks, months even. Nami was acting out even more than ever before, spurred on further and further by her friends. Taka felt his anger escalating each day as well, and his hatred for his classmate started running even deeper than before. He was almost hopeful that they had come to some sort of understanding while working together. After all, they seemed to have similar work ethic when it really got down to it, but it looked like she was trying to make up for their brief period of peace by targeting him personally.

He still didn’t understand her logic in the slightest, though. She was only digging herself into a deeper and deeper hole with faculty. She was having near weekly detentions, and eventually even her friends started worrying about her.

Nami ambled into the science class she shared with Hina and Sakura after she had gotten another tardy slip from Taka just before class. She had science right after history, so while she knew he was watching her like a hawk, she simply leaned against the wall beside the science classroom, just to wait for the bell to ring. Taka had thrust the slip at her violently, vein pulsing in his forehead in pure rage, and she took the slip with a flourish before giving him a mock salute and pushing the door to her class open.

Nami slipped into her desk in the back of the room behind Hina, Sakura in the desk beside her. She folded her arms onto her desk and rested her chin on them with a content sigh. Another successful mission.

“I don’t get it,” Hina whispered, “do you _ want _ more detentions?”

“Of course not, Hina, I just want to make Taka waste his Saturday mornings for as long as possible,” Nami muttered.

“Waste, huh?” Sakura said with a hint of laughter in her voice. She and Hina shared a knowing look, unbeknownst to Nami. Both the girls knew that if their friend didn’t let up soon, they would have to take matters into their own hands. 

\-----

“A-And then she just _ stood there!” _ Taka shouted, throwing his hands up in exasperation as he paced around in the courtyard. He was accompanied by Mondo and Chihiro Fujisaki, who Mondo had started bringing around more often in the past few weeks. The two shared an annoyed glance as Taka rambled on and on about how furious he was at Nami.

“Jesus, Taka, _ stop talking about her! _” Mondo finally yelled.

“W-What? You say that like I talk about her all the time.”

“You do…” Chihiro said quietly. 

“Seriously, man, I’m starting to miss your lectures on homework,” Mondo said as he stood and stretched. “You’re too tense! She’s obviously doing this just to get a rise out of you. If you stop paying attention to her, she’ll stop acting out.”

“But that doesn’t make any sense!” Taka argued, “I have to show her that she can’t get away with breaking school rules!”

“But she already is, Taka,” Chihiro said, “She still gets to graduate, and the teachers don’t really care since she does all her work. You’re the only one who seems to be so bothered by it.”

“I-I’m not bothered by it, I could care less how many detentions she gets!”

“But you’re _clearly_ _bothered_ _by_ _it_,” Mondo said, placing a firm hand on Taka’s shoulder. “If you really want her to stop, just let it go. I promise you, she wouldn’t be doing all this if you weren’t giving her so much attention.”

“Trust me, she doesn’t care if I give her attention or not. It’s her complete and utter lack of respect for--”

Taka launched into another tirade and Mondo groaned and buried his head in his hands. Something had to be done in this situation. Salvation came in the form of a text message.

Asahina had texted Sayaka Maizono, who had texted Leon Kuwata, who had texted Mondo to meet Hina and Sakura in the gym in an hour _ without Taka. _ Curiosity got the best of Mondo and he agreed to meet them, but begged Chihiro to go with him, who reluctantly agreed. 

It turns out that the girls were in much the same predicament. Nami had been relentless in her rule breaking, and they theorised that no matter what she claimed, it was for the sake of getting Taka’s attention and some alone time with him. Mondo and Chihiro agreed, they had thought the same thing. What the four of them needed now was a plan to get them alone together, hopefully outside of school.

Lucky for them there was a carnival in town.

They agreed that Hina and Sakura would invite Nami, and Mondo and Chihiro would invite Taka without either of them knowing that the other would be going. Somehow, they would get them alone and make them realize their feelings for each other. Both pairs left their impromptu meeting feeling reassured that this bickering would all be over soon.

\-----

Saturday rolled around and once again Nami was strolling into the now-familiar library classroom for detention. Taka had taken to completely ignoring her the last few times she had been there, so she decided to recycle an old trick and started chewing a piece of gum as soon as she got to her seat.

She tilted her chair back on two legs, lazily hanging her arm over the back and staring at Taka while she popped an obnoxious bubble as loud as she could manage. He looked up from his work and locked eyes with her, challenging her again. She popped another.

“Why are you like this?” Taka burst, and Nami shrugged at him, grinning at her victory. 

“Life's too short to follow rules.”

“Why are you even a student here?”

The chair Nami had been tilting back slammed back onto the ground. 

“_ Excuse _ me?” 

“I mean, what _ is _ your talent? I’ve never seen you do anything but go to your general education classes. You don’t do any extracurriculars, you do nothing but goof off, so what is it that Hope’s Peak sees in you?”

Taka recoiled at the sight of her. He had never seen her angry like she was now, red in the face and nostrils flaring. She was always cheerful or sarcastic or goofy.

“None of your fucking business.”

And without being dismissed, Nami stood and stormed out of the room. She felt her face burning with anger and embarrassment, and wanted to get out of there before angry tears started streaming down her face. Of course that was what he thought. Everyone thought that she didn’t have an Ultimate. 

Taka didn’t bother writing her another detention slip after that. He knew she wouldn’t come back either way.

\-----

The carnival that night was a welcome change of pace for Nami. She had spent nearly the whole day alone in her dorm, pacing around angrily. _ He really thinks I have no talent? _ She thought to herself as she stomped her way to the carnival behind Hina and Sakura. _ He’s one to talk. What does ‘Ultimate Moral Compass’ even mean? That guy has an ultimate stick up his ass, how dare he-- _

Her thoughts were interrupted at the sight of Mondo Owada and Chihiro Fujisaki walking up the sidewalk in their direction, Taka in tow. Nami glared at him, and when he met her gaze, he flushed pink and looked away. 

He felt guilty about what he had said earlier, but didn’t know why. He had obviously struck a nerve in a way that he didn’t understand. He was also grappling with a strange urge to keep looking at Nami. This was the first time he had seen her in anything remotely stylish, and it was a struggle to keep his eyes away from her.

She wore a powder blue varsity jacket over a white tank top and jeans, with matching blue sneakers and baseball cap, situated backwards on her head. She looked… organized. This outfit was intentional and measured, not just a random t-shirt thrown over pants. 

For Nami, this was the first time seeing Taka out of his school uniform. He still dressed a little formal, in a springy green polo and slacks, but he actually had sneakers on instead of dress shoes. She felt angry at herself for thinking that the outfit suited him.

“Wow, funny running into you guys here!” Hina said just a bit too loud. Nami was immediately suspicious. “Say, why don’t the six of us all hang out together?”

“Very subtle, Hina,” Nami growled, leading the pack into the carnival. 

She decided to give Taka a taste of his own medicine for once and act like he didn’t even exist. After the implication he made at detention, he deserved it in her eyes. She still hadn’t told Hina and Sakura about the fight they’d had, so she gave them the benefit of the doubt. Surely they wouldn’t have done… whatever they were doing if they had known.

The four conspirators were unhappy that their plan was seemingly failing. Both Nami and Taka were acting out of character. Taka was timid and quiet, Nami was so angry that she kept her jaw clenched and she wouldn’t look at any of them. They both just trailed along behind everyone else in complete silence. 

Eventually, Mondo nudged Hina and nodded at the nearby ferris wheel. She gave him an exaggerated wink and he groaned. But still, they needed to follow through with the plan somehow.

“Hey, what a wonderful way to finish off the evening!” Hina said excitedly, pointing at the ferris wheel. She grabbed Nami by the wrist and dragged her with quite a bit of resistance to the ticket booth. 

“Wh-What? Why this?”

“Because it’s a classic carnival activity, now come on! I’ll ride with Sakura, Mondo with Chihiro, and--”

“_ Why are you doing this? _”

But Hina didn’t answer. She shoved Nami forward onto the loading platform and Mondo did the same to Taka. Nami felt herself go numb as she was sheparded into the seat and the lap bar was lowered over both her and Taka, and yelped a bit as the ride started moving. She was never fond of heights and this was her first ferris wheel since childhood. She had not grown any braver since then. 

“Is everything alright Nami?” Taka asked about a fourth of the way up. She sat, hands gripping the lap bar so hard her knuckles were white, and her eyes were tightly shut. She just _ knew _ he had to be loving this.

“Just peachy,” she said through gritted teeth, but as panic filled her veins she decided lying was pointless. “Actually, n-no, I really d-don’t like heights.”

“Why would your friends make you ride it, then?”

“_ Beats me, Taka!” _ She snapped. She instantly felt bad, but then remembered that she was supposed to be mad at him. Fear makes you forget things like that.

“Is there… anything I can do to help?”

“Don’t touch me, I hate you.”

Taka wilted a bit. He knew she must, but hearing it out loud was a different story. He figured this was his only chance to make up for what he said that morning, at a moment that she couldn’t ignore him or run away.

“Listen, I’m sorry about what I said today.” He paused to give her a chance to bite back, but she stayed quiet. “I know what I said was incredibly insulting and I’m sorry. Just because we have our differences doesn’t mean you don’t have an ultimate. I shouldn’t have doubted that. So please, if I can do anything to help right now…”

“I don't think there's--” Just then the car jostled and Nami whimpered and gripped Taka’s wrist. He gently loosened her grip and instead held her hand in his. She cracked an eye at him, but he was looking in the opposite direction to hide his blush. God, what was he thinking?

Nami surprised both herself and Taka when she buried her face in his shoulder. He smelled faintly like aftershave and it was surprisingly pleasant. Nami felt a swooping sensation in her gut that had nothing to do with the ride, and hoped to god that none of their friends could see them right now. 

Taka was stiff as a board during all this. He had never had anyone, let alone a girl cling to him like this. And it was Nami of all people. Why did he suddenly feel so warm, despite the cool breeze dancing across his skin? He even felt dizzy… was he sick? It seemed like all he could focus on was the way Nami’s breath felt against his arm.

The two of them didn’t separate until they were safely back on the ground, and they sprung apart at alarming speed. Luckily no one was waiting for them on the ground since they boarded after them. Taka had to help Nami walk back down the loading platform because her knees were wobbly from the whole ordeal. Again, his grip felt like a hot iron burning her through her jacket as he held her by the arm.

They stood awkwardly side by side, waiting for their friends to get off the ride next. They knew it was going to take a while, given the pace of ferris wheels. Nami surprised Taka by breaking the silence.

“Why don’t we call a truce?”

“A… A truce?”

“Taka, it's no secret you have it out for me”

He started to argue but she silenced him with a finger. “And, I'll admit, I get a kick out of teasing you. Let's call it even and try to be friendly until graduation, deal?”

He hesitated before nodding. “Fine, deal.”

“This doesn’t mean we’re friends, got it? And this night didn’t happen. Let’s just… leave each other alone from now on.”

“O-Okay…”

And after everything, after all the frustration and anger, after all the bickering and fights… Neither of them could help a sense of loss from settling into their guts.


	4. Chapter 4

“And just to keep things simple for this report, you are to meet back up with your partners from the previous group project!”

Hina’s head thudded against her desk as she groaned in anguish.

“Another assignment with Hifumi?” She moaned. “I barely made it through the last one!” 

“You’ll survive,” Nami said through laughter, which stopped abruptly at the feeling of eyes on the back of her head. She turned around and caught sight of Taka quickly looking away.

_ Oh, right. _

Nami heaved a sigh and walked over to Taka’s desk, deciding to take the initiative for once.

“Hey.”

“H-Hello.”

“Long time no see. You didn’t lose my number, right? So we can just meet up after school like last time.”

“Library again?”

Nami scrunched up her face in disgust. “Dude, the library sucks. Just come to my dorm at four, okay? And don’t make it weird,” she said, catching sight of the blush creeping up his cheeks. 

He hadn’t been able to stop thinking about Nami in the weeks that had passed since the carnival, though now it wasn’t out of frustration. He couldn’t stop thinking back to how soft her hand had been in his, how well put together she looked at the carnival, how tight that tank top had been-- 

“Taka!” Taka was jolted back to attention by Mondo waving a hand in front of his face. “I asked if you were alright, you look like you might have a fever.”

“Howdoyouknowifyoulikesomeone?”

“H-Huh?” Mondo could barely understand Taka, who had spoken all in one breath.

“I-I said… How do you know if you like someone? R-Romantically?”

“What?! No way, who?!”

Taka clamped his mouth shut, suddenly realizing what a stupid idea this was, but Mondo wasn’t about to let it go.

“I’m… going to Nami’s dorm tonight…” Taka blushed even darker at the wild grin on Mondo’s face. “To work on a group assignment! I just… feel unusually nervous. And I can’t get her out of my head since the carnival. I think…”

“Yeah, you have the hots for her for sure.”

“This hasn’t happened to me before…” Taka admitted in embarrassment. “What do I do?”

“Well, you either tell her, or you let it fester for the rest of your life.”

“Shut up, I’m serious! Should I just not go?”

“ _ You _ would skip out on a group assignment study session? Wow, you really must be lovesick.” 

Taka didn’t laugh at Mondo’s joke, so he realized how genuine his friend was being. 

“Listen, I’m serious too. You can’t avoid her for the rest of the year. You can’t avoid this project. Just go over there and act like everything is normal. It’ll pass eventually, especially if she isn’t interested.”

Taka sighed. He knew Mondo was right. He would just have to squash his feelings down for the sake of the report and then they could go back to ignoring one another. Hopefully that would make his crush easier to forget.

\-----

Nami was only slightly nervous to have Taka coming over to her dorm. She didn’t think all that much of his opinion, of course, but she at least didn’t want to seem like a complete slob. She tried to tidy up as best she could in the little time she had, and thankfully had gotten all the dirty laundry and snack wrappers out of her room just in time. 

She opened the door almost immediately after Taka knocked. He stood awkwardly in her doorway, still in his uniform like usual. She herself hadn’t bothered changing this time, just removed her asinine ribbon and unbuttoned her shirt a bit for comfort’s sake. Taka’s gaze was drawn to her cleavage instantly, but she thankfully didn’t notice before he regained his composure.

They finished compiling a lot of their talking points for their report before Nami had to momentarily excuse herself to go to the bathroom. Taka was surprised at how different her room was from his own, now that he had a chance to glance around. She had a cork board hanging over her desk that was plastered in photos of her and her friends. The only photo in Taka’s room was of himself and his father. She also had stacks of movies and games by her TV, which Taka examined in interest while she was gone.

“See any favorites?”

Taka jumped at the sound of her voice.

“Oh, no… I don’t really watch movies. Or… play games.”

“Oh, really? Well what do you do in your free time then?”

“I study.”

“No, I mean when you don’t have to study.”

“If I have free time, I study.”

“Okay, but how do you  _ relax? _ ”

Taka didn’t seem to have an answer for that. He was starting to grow embarrassed. “Isn’t television just a waste of time…?”

“No, not really,” Nami said, crossing her arms. “It’s fun.”

“But doing stuff just for fun doesn’t serve a purpose.”

“Sure it does. It’s relatable. It gives you something to share with or talk about with other people.”

Taka seemed to be stunned into silence. He looked down at his feet.

“I guess that explains it, then,” he said.

“Explains what?”

“Why I’m so bad at making friends. Why the conversation dies when I try to contribute, why I don’t feel like I have anything in common with anyone… Maybe  _ studying  _ was the waste of time.” 

Nami reeled a bit. It sounded like Taka was having an identity crisis.

“It obviously wasn’t a waste, you’re very successful.”

“So are you, you don’t study.”

Taka slumped onto the couch and Nami sat beside him after a moment of hesitation.

“Yeah, well, I’m blessed with a photographic memory. I don’t need to study like other people.” Taka still looked dejected, and no matter how badly Nami wanted to continue ignoring him, she couldn’t just let the poor guy suffer like this. She grit her teeth for a moment before she said,

“What if you and I have a little movie club?”

“A what?”

“Once a week you can come over here and watch a movie. This way you can learn more about what you’re missing. I can show you which ones are popular, so you can socialize more.”

“...Why? I thought you didn’t want anything to do with me?”

“Yeah, well, it’s an excuse for me to watch movies. And you have to bring me a snack each time. Do we have a deal or not?”

It took a little bit of thought, but eventually Taka nodded and agreed to come over again that Saturday. Nami wasn’t totally sure what she had gotten herself into, but she couldn’t help but feel a flutter of excitement in her stomach. Maybe spending time with Taka could actually be fun.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ding Dong, the smut is here! It's in the second half of the chapter after the page break if you would like to skip it.

Nami and Taka’s movie club had been running successfully for a month. She had shown him a few classics, and even though it felt unnatural at first he had actually been having a lot of fun. If anything, he just enjoyed spending time with Nami. He had given in to his feelings at this point and accepted that he liked her, but nothing would come of it.

Nami was surprised at how much fun she was having too. Once Taka started to unwind, he was honestly just a normal guy who wanted friends. She couldn’t help feeling a little bad for how much trouble she had caused him, especially during senior year.

She was frustrated with what the closeness was doing to her, though. Every accidental brush of their hands made heat surge through her, and she started finding his laugh, a sound she had never heard before, contagious. Sometimes she would watch his face instead of the movie, just to see his reactions to what was happening on screen. She was starting to realize that she  _ preferred  _ watching him.

They had shared a lot with each other in the past few weeks. She learned all about his grandpa’s scandal and his dad’s struggle on the police force, which explained why he was testy about the nickname ‘officer.’ When he asked her about her family, she expressed that she had been abandoned at a young age, and had been living alone since the start of middle school. One thing she still hadn’t shared with Taka was her Ultimate. 

He was afraid to ask, especially after the argument they’d had during her last detention. Eventually his curiosity got the better of him, and he posed the question as the credits to their latest film started rolling. She stiffened when he asked, anxiety paralyzing her. 

“You don’t have to tell me if you really don’t want to, I just don’t understand why you keep it a secret. I know there’s a lot of wild rumors around the school, why don’t you shut them all up by telling them what your Ultimate really is?”

“It’s just not something I like to talk about. It isn’t exactly admirable, and it reminds me of when I was struggling to survive each day.”

“You really don’t have to tell me. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have--”

“No, no. We’re friends now, right?” Taka blushed and nodded. “I… I trust you, so… I’m officially known as the Ultimate Sleight of Hand Artist.” 

She paused, but Taka was confused. That didn’t sound all that bad.

“I was a grifter. I used to use back alley games and card tricks to scam people out of their money. Now I mostly just use my talent for fun, for pranks, things like that. But it used to be… well, my income. I was alone, homeless, and hungry at a point in my life and I…” She looked away and hugged her arms around herself. “I had to do what I could to get by… Don't ask me what Hope’s Peak sees in me, I don't even know.”

Taka was consumed with guilt when she echoed his own words back to him.  _ Don’t ask me what Hope’s Peak sees in me… _ This must’ve been bothering her for her entire high school career. It was unusual for her to speak like this, without her usual confidence. She sounded so ashamed. Taka was facing a bit of a dilemma though. She  _ had  _ broken the law, but out of sheer necessity. She clearly felt guilt over this, and he refused to add onto it any more. 

“You’re resourceful.”

“I’m  _ what? _ Taka, you of all people should hate this, I  _ stole _ from people, I broke the law!”

“But you didn’t really have a choice, did you? It sounds like you only took what you needed, and it wasn’t your fault that you were in that situation. That’s your family’s fault. You did what you needed to to survive. Why do you feel like you have to hide this talent?”

“I didn’t want a reputation as a criminal.”

She went into a long winded explanation that Hope’s Peak found her through the various rumors that spread about her through the cities surrounding the school. She had to keep moving; if she stayed in one place too long people would come after her demanding their money back. A scout for Hope’s Peak heard about a little girl in a middle school uniform that was swindling people out of their money, and tracked her down to see what she could do for himself. 

“Hope’s Peak was a way out, and now… Once we graduate, I don’t know what I’m going to do. I don’t want to go back to grifting. I still feel guilty about all the people I tricked, but begging wasn’t working and--”

Taka grasped her hand, making her jump slightly.

“There’s nothing wrong with your talent. There are ways you can use it without tricking people. It doesn’t have to go back to how it was, trust me.”

Taka tried to give her a reassuring smile, even though he was thinking of nothing but how long he had been holding her hand. His smile faltered when Nami started inching closer to him. She wasn't really sure what she was doing; she still wouldn't admit to herself that she had feelings for Taka. It was like her body was moving of its own accord, disregarding the consequences. Taka's breathing hitched. Before he had time to say anything, she closed the distance between them and pressed her lips to his. 

Taka had never been kissed before. He wasn't quite sure what to do with his hands, though one was still clasping Nami’s. She cupped his cheek and he became acutely aware that his eyes were still open. While a thousand thoughts ran through his head, she pulled away.

Nami suddenly felt like maybe she came on too strong, that she should've asked first if she could kiss him. Taka looked stunned; his eyes were wide as he gently touched his lips in disbelief. 

“Sorry… was that… Okay?” she asked timidly. She felt like she was asking herself just as much as him. 

Taka nodded and Nami lost all reservations when he did. Their lips crashed together again, Nami deciding to throw caution to the wind and succumb, finally, to her attraction to Taka. 

Something about  _ this  _ kiss seemed different to him. It wasn’t as shy, it was more passionate, more heated than before. He could taste the lust on her lips as she pressed herself into him. He tentatively raised a hand to tangle into her hair. This was entirely new to him, and he didn't know how to respond when her tongue ran across his bottom lip. He gasped and parted his lips, allowing her tongue to slide against his, making him moan aloud involuntarily. She tasted  _ so good _ , and made every bit of Taka tingle as she softly moaned into his mouth. 

They jerked apart when someone knocked on Nami’s door. She tried to smooth her hair down and turned the light back on in her room as she went to open it. It was Hina.

“Heya Nami! We’re going to go into town for some lunch, do you want to… Taka?”

She had spotted Taka sitting on the couch over Nami’s shoulder. Hina gave her a curious look, a small smile sneaking onto her face. 

“What are  _ you two _ up to?”

“We called a truce. Now we watch movies together.”

“And that’s it?”

“ _ Yes, that’s it. _ You know what, lunch sounds great. Our movie just ended anyway.”

Taka took that as his cue to leap up from the couch and awkwardly sidle past Nami and Hina to head back to his own dorm, where he immediately texted Mondo to meet up and talk about what had just happened.

\-----

The movie club quickly evolved into something entirely different for Taka and Nami. They started meeting up almost every night, and usually couldn’t even make it through the whole movie before getting lost in one another.

Nami was pleased that Taka was getting the hang of things pretty quickly. She definitely had more experience than him in this department, but he had started getting more exploratory with her, letting his hands roam a little further each time they embraced. 

He was still holding back, though. She could tell from tent in his pants that he always tried so hard to hide that he wanted more. That was why she strolled around the school now to look for him, seconds before their first classes were starting. And then she spotted her target. He was about to take the stairs to the second floor, but Nami gripped his hand before his feet touched the first step and pulled him behind the stairs, hidden from view. 

“Nami! What are you--”

She silenced him with a kiss. This was the first time they showed any kind of intimacy outside of her room. They both wanted to keep things a secret, and Mondo was the only one who knew that they were more than friends. 

“Convincing you to skip class... “ she mumbled into his lips. 

He choked out a laugh. “S-Skip? And there's n-no PDA in the halls…”

Nami chuckled and began trailing feather light kisses down his neck. “C’mon, let's break some rules.” She nipped at his throat and he let out an involuntary moan. 

“Wh-What do you…”

Nami gripped his hand suddenly and led him down the hall, around a few corners, and eventually into an empty classroom. She locked the door behind them and returned to his lips. She gripped the front of his pristine uniform jacket, pushing him into the teacher’s desk chair. Taka stared at her, eyes wide and hair ruffled. 

She dropped in front of him, holding his gaze, and started to unbuckle his belt. He gasped with realization. 

“W-Wait, I've never…” he trailed off. 

“Do you want me to stop?”

“N-No, I…” He looked away, as if he was ashamed. 

“Hey,” Nami gently held his cheeks in her soft, warm hands and turned him to look at her. “I don't want to do anything to make you uncomfortable, Taka. I… I have very strong feelings for you, and I want to do this with you. But if you aren't ready we can stop.”

Taka stared at her for a moment, then gently pulled her in for a searing kiss. “P-Please… don't stop…” 

His voice was but a whisper and it sent chills down Nami’s spine. She gripped his thighs and kissed him once more, long and deep, before trailing more kisses down his throat and eventually unbuttoning his pants and slipping them down. 

He was already straining against his briefs. She smiled to herself and freed him from his restraints. Taka failed to stifle his moan. She leaned her face closer and closer to his lap, agonizingly slow, and Taka’s erection twitched as it was tickled by her breath. She ran a teasing finger up his shaft, making him gasp. She finally leaned forward and flicked her tongue against the head of his cock. Taka was gripping the arms of the chair so hard that it looked about to break and Nami finally relinquished. 

She placed him in her mouth and lowered onto him, slow as can be, keeping her tongue flat against the underside of his cock. She started bobbing at a steady rhythm, relishing Taka’s panting breaths breaking the silence in the classroom. She worked his shaft with her right hand, her left still gripping his leg. Taka’s own hand fell to lace his fingers with hers and grip her hand tightly. She knew he must be close, especially with this being his first time. Sure enough, his grip tightened and she felt him twitch harder, pulling him out of her mouth and finishing him off with her hand, catching his cum and cleaning off with some tissues on the teacher's desk. 

Nami smiled slyly at Taka, who was still trying to catch his breath. He was snapped out of his stupor when the bell rang, meaning they needed to leave this classroom before a teacher arrived. He stood and pulled his pants up quickly, and Nami turned to leave but was stopped by Taka grasping her arm. She turned back towards him and he pulled her into a tight hug. 

“Y-You're amazing…” he gasped into her ear. 

She smiled at him before heading out into the throng of students in the hallway. 


	6. Chapter 6

“You weren’t in class this morning. What happened?”

Mondo’s question brought Taka crashing down from cloud nine. Mondo had tracked him down in the hallway after Nami had vanished into the crowd of students. He quickly tried to spin an excuse, but he had never had to lie like that before. He didn’t even think about the fact that people would notice him missing, and started to panic when he realized that his teacher was probably going to ask him next.

“He was preoccupied,” Nami said, rematerializing on Mondo’s other side, shooting Taka a wink. He still wasn’t used to Nami and Mondo interacting, but she appreciated having someone know the truth of the matter.

“Jeez, you’re getting bold. You know someone is going to piece together what’s going on between you two real soon. Did you know that Hina has been interrogating me?”

Nami waved her hand dismissively. 

“You’re exaggerating, Hina isn’t that observant.”

“Exactly,” said Mondo, rounding on Nami. “And yet, she’s just about figured it out. If you two are gonna be a thing, why hide it?”

“Because it’s nobody’s business,” Nami said, puffing up a bit in irritation.

“So just stop sneaking around. I’m not asking you to announce it from the goddamn intercom, just act like a normal couple.”

Nami crossed her arms and fell silent. Taka had been starting to wonder why they were keeping it a secret, too. It didn’t hurt him all that much, but he couldn’t help but feel like she was embarrassed to be with him. They hadn’t even put a label on whatever they were yet. 

Nami didn’t want to be dead weight. She didn’t want her reputation to tarnish Taka’s. Guilt crawled over her skin, and she broke away from Mondo and Taka to go to her own class. She had already started affecting him negatively; she made him skip class today just to fool around. It was like Mondo said, she was being too bold. She would get them both in trouble this way. That was his first absence in high school. Better yet, probably in his whole life. She was corrupting him. She had never been with anyone as good and innocent as him before. God, she was going to ruin him.

Nami was spiralling fast and wasn’t paying attention to where she was going. She ended up walking right into Sakura Ogami’s back, which felt like hitting a brick wall. Hina was there too and caught Nami by the arm before she toppled over.

“Hey Nami,” she said cheerfully, but her mood shifted at her friend’s appearance. She looked like she was hyperventilating, and she had tears welling in her eyes. “Hey, are you alright?”

“N-No. I need to tell you something.”

The three girls rushed into the bathroom, ignoring the bell when it rang. Nami realized with a pang that she was now skipping two classes and dragging three people she cared about down with her. She started crying as soon as the bathroom door swung shut behind them. Hina pulled her into a hug and let her sob into her shoulder as Sakura looked on in concern.

“I lied to you…”

“Huh?” asked Hina, “About what?”

“When you saw Taka in my room… We weren’t just watching movies, we’ve been fooling around...”

Hina swallowed the urge to shout  _ I knew it _ and instead asked, “Is… that what this is about? Fibbing?”

“Did he do something to you?” Sakura asked, hands balled into fists.

“No, no,” Nami pulled away and rinsed her face in the sink. “ _ I  _ did something to  _ him. _ ”

She explained, while leaving out a few  _ private details _ , what had happened that morning. She voiced her fears that she was a bad influence on Taka, that his last few months at school would be negatively impacted if they started officially dating, that she was sullying his morals by being with him and pressuring him into fooling around at school. Hina stroked her hair while she talked, and Sakura listened contemplatively. 

“You gave him lots of opportunities to stop you, right?” Sakura asked once Nami was finished.

“Y-Yeah? I didn’t want to rush him.”

“Then I wouldn’t say that you pressured him into anything. You made it clear that he could back out at any point.”

“Yeah, but what if he only kept going because he thought that’s what I wanted?”

“Taka doesn’t seem like the type to be a pushover,” Hina said. “The only way he would ever break the rules like that is if he  _ really  _ wanted to. He needs to learn how to let loose sometimes, too. I think you guys will balance each other out nicely.”

“But if this is bothering you, just talk to him about it,” said Sakura. “The only way to really know what he’s thinking is to ask him.”

Nami knew her friends were right, but she was scared. No matter how much she had fooled around, she’d never had a serious boyfriend. Whenever emotions got complicated with someone she left. She didn’t want to do that this time. She liked Taka too much, so she would just have to suck it up and talk to him. 

\-----

Taka was already in his desk when Nami arrived to history class, which made things much easier for her. She walked past his desk to get to her own, and without anyone noticing she slipped a note from her sleeve into his lap. Taka didn’t even notice it right away. 

The contents were straightforward:  _ My dorm at 8 p.m. _ He couldn’t help dread from inching its way into his heart. His first thought was that he had disappointed her somehow. Maybe his inexperience was too frustrating for her, and she didn’t want to waste any more of her time. He  _ knew  _ that had to be why she didn’t want anyone to know they were together, now he was sure of it. She was inviting him over to tell him that he was too embarrassing to date publicly and that would be the end of it.

Taka was unable to focus for the rest of the day. The minutes seemed to tick by impossibly slow as he waited for eight o’ clock sharp to arrive. As he approached her door, he had the fleeting thought that if he refused to meet with her, she wouldn’t be able to tell him that she wanted nothing to do with him ever again, but unfortunately he had already knocked on her door.

Nami just about lost her nerve when she swung open the door and locked eyes with Taka. She invited him in and immediately started trying to think of a way out. Everything she had been rehearsing slipped right out of her head when she was staring him down like this. He looked like he was fearful of what she was going to say, which only made her feel more guilty.  _ He’d be better off if we ended this. We both would.  _

“I-I’m sorry!” Taka blurted. Nami’s train of thought stopped in its tracks.

“What…? Why?”

“Well, when I got your note I figured I must have done something… You seemed upset with me after this morning. I’m not quite sure what happened, I’m still new to all this, I’m just sorry for upsetting you.”

He stared down at the floor as his apology came tumbling out of his mouth.  _ I must sound like a child, _ he thought. Nami hid her face in her hands.

“No, no I wasn’t upset with you, I’m upset with myself! I wanted you to come over so I could apologize to  _ you _ ,” Nami explained. 

Taka balked. “For what?”

“For making you skip class this morning. I know how important attendance is to you and I shouldn’t have pushed you into doing something like that.” 

“I’m not upset about that,” Taka said with a blush. “Granted, I would have never imagined doing anything like  _ that _ before, but… It was…” 

He trailed off, turning scarlet. Nami took a step forward. 

“It was what?”

“Th-Thrilling…”

It was Nami’s turn to blush. “Well… All of that aside, I wanted to explain why I haven’t wanted to tell anyone about us…”

Taka gulped. This was it, this was where she was going to tell him to leave and never come back.

“I’m afraid of what my reputation is going to do to you.”

“Your… reputation?” Taka was surprised. That was obviously not what he expected her to say.

“Yeah, I’m a trouble-maker. The teachers think so, the students think so… You’re the Ultimate Moral Compass, what if people start questioning you because I’m with you. People are going to start judging you, Taka, the way they judge me and I don’t know if you’re ready for that.”

Silence hung in the air for a moment before Taka stepped forward and pulled Nami into a hug.

"Well," he murmured into her ear, "What if I say to hell with everyone else…?" Nami didn't respond, she only buried her face deeper in Taka's shoulder. "I mean it, Nami, I don't care what anyone thinks. I've gotten to know you very well and I… I've never felt this way about someone before. I don't want to lose this."

Taka's face burned as he waited for her reply. She pulled away and looked up at him with an expression that made his knees weak before bringing her face just inches from his. 

"To hell with everyone else, " she sighed into his lips, and as Taka held Nami close, her white hot kiss burning into him, he knew everything would be okay. 


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Smut Ahoy

The following week, the school was absolutely buzzing with the news that Kiyotaka Ishimaru, the most uptight student at the school, was dating Nami Morishige, the only student at the school that seemed incapable of taking anything seriously. 

"You know what they say, opposites attract," was all Hina would offer to the people seeking her out for gossip. Mondo gave them a far more callous "fuck off." Everything died down after a few weeks, thankfully, but a new stressor had entered their lives: graduation. 

Graduation was in just two short weeks, and Nami and Taka were growing anxious about their future together. Taka wanted to get involved with politics and surpass the shameful legacy his grandfather had left behind, but Nami, in true Nami fashion, had no idea what she wanted to do. She was worried that she would be alone again after graduation. Taka was going to live with his father until he went to college, but she had no one to go home to. 

Hope's Peak Academy offered to help her with housing if she had a solid plan for a career, but she had yet to give them an answer. The pressure was really starting to set in, and she was far more irritable than usual lately. Friends would tease that 'Taka could help with that pent up frustration,' and Nami didn't doubt that he could, but the two hadn't even  _ discussed _ sex yet. In fact, aside from their risky encounter a few months ago, they hadn't done anything more than make out. Needless to say, Nami was getting a little restless. 

What she was unaware of was that Taka had been thinking about the subject a great deal. He had never been with anyone before and was concerned that Nami would have expectations that he couldn't meet. The only person he could really turn to for advice was Mondo. He was very straightforward, and brought the subject up out of the blue one Friday after school. He had a date with Nami that night and was fairly certain he wanted to try to initiate something. 

Mondo was admittedly surprised by the question. He, like everyone else, had mistaken Taka for a prude. In fact, he decided to dig into him a little bit while he had the chance. 

"You know, I'm pretty sure 'no sex in the dorms' is a school rule," he teased. 

"One that we all know is overlooked," Taka bit back, blushing.

"So what, Nami hasn't made a move yet? I find that surprising."

"She, well…" Taka turned tomato red. "She's  _ catered to my needs _ before, once, but I haven't gotten the chance to return the favor, and I'm afraid I won't know how…"

Mondo knew Taka was embarrassed, and that it took a lot of guts to talk about this, but he couldn't help chuckling. 

"Trust me, a girl like Nami, she'll tell you exactly what she wants. Part of sex is just figuring it out as you go. Don't stress so much about it."

Mondo felt a bit like a fraud. He was a nervous wreck the first time he had sex, but the whole reason Taka came to him was to learn from his experience. So he gave him a rundown of things that definitely didn't make it to their health class curriculum. Taka left for his date feeling severely embarrassed, but well informed. 

Nami knew something was up the moment Taka arrived at her dorm. He was far more fidgety than usual, and looked like he wanted to say something but kept stopping short. She very quickly started worrying that something was wrong. Still, they settled onto the couch just like every other time he came over. He was dressed in his uniform, as usual, but Nami had thrown on a t-shirt and sweatpants. Sometimes the difference in their tidiness made her self conscious, and his fidgeting wasn’t helping.

"Alright," she finally said, "What's wrong? Something's bugging you, I can tell."

Taka flushed a deep crimson at being found out so quickly. He was still frantically trying to think of a way to make a move, but kept losing his nerve. He sighed and looked down at his hands in his lap, deciding to just get straight to the point. 

Nami was expecting the worst, so she was relieved, albeit taken aback, when Taka said,

"I've been thinking this over a lot lately, and I would like to… t-take our relationship to the next level."

“Oh,” Nami giggled, “Is that all?”

Taka’s ears grew red. He felt extremely sheepish and vulnerable right then, and couldn’t help getting annoyed. 

“W-What do you mean is that all?!”

Nami stopped giggling and her eyes went wide. 

“O-Oh no, I’m sorry, I just thought something was wrong. I’m just relieved…” They sat in awkward silence for a moment before Nami took Taka’s hand and squeezed. “I’ve been thinking about it too… I just didn’t want to rush you.”

“S-Sorry… I didn’t mean to snap at you like that, I just,” Taka sighed and squeezed her hand back. “I haven’t done this before, and I don’t want to disappoint.”

"You won't," Nami whispered, inching closer to him. Taka swallowed around the lump in his throat. He closed the distance between them, swiping his tongue along Nami's lower lip so she parted her lips and tangled her tongue with his own. He had been hoping that once the ball got rolling, his nerves would disperse, but he found himself completely frozen in place. 

Nami’s movements were slow, just to give Taka plenty of time to pull away should he change his mind. She slid his jacket off and tossed it to the ground. His hands found their way to her waist and she felt him fiddle with the hem of her shirt. She parted their kiss to remove it, and Taka reddened at the sight of her, just for a moment before she pulled him into another blazing kiss. 

Her hands were at his collar, unbuttoning his shirt before tugging it out of his waistband and off entirely. Nami’s breathing hitched as she examined him, shocked to find his chest so toned and muscular. They paused momentarily for her to retrieve a condom from her bedside table, discarding her bra along the way, before returning to the couch and yanking Taka to his feet.

Taka groaned impatiently when she tugged at his waistband and pulled his pants and briefs down to his knees. He kicked the garments to the side as they returned to the couch and their lips met once more, movements more frantic and less cautious than they had been initially. She pressed into him more forcefully, so he was laying back against the arm of the couch. His eyes widened as she straddled him and she peppered his neck and chest in kisses, making his heart pound against his ribcage as so hard that he felt surely the neighbors could hear his pulse.

Taka shivered as he felt Nami’s breath hot on his ear. “Are you ready?” 

“Y-Yes!” 

He could barely gasp out his response, and the second the word left his lips, her hands were on him. She stroked him slowly, base to tip while seamlessly rolling the condom on, and thrust her tongue back into his eager mouth. His nervous hands abandoned their post at her waist and slid down to her thighs. Mondo's advice was on repeat in Taka's head as he tentatively reached between Nami's legs. 

Nami jolted a bit at the feeling of Taka's trembling fingers tracing over her entrance, and she sucked a sharp breath through her teeth when his cautious touch made its way to her clit. He rubbed circles into her, his fingers already coated in her arousal, and she couldn't help a desperate groan from escaping. It had been far too long since someone touched her like this. 

Her hips bucked into Taka's hand, spurring him on to pleasure her faster. She couldn't focus on anything but Taka's touch and she stopped stroking him, which he was thankful for; he was so close to cumming from her touch alone that he was happy to have a break. 

"Keep doing that," she whispered, and she shifted, positioning Taka briefly before she lowered herself onto him, sighing contentedly. 

Taka let out a strangled moan resembling her name. She rotated her hips into him, her arms falling around his neck, panting softly with each motion. Her lips gently brushed against his collarbone, planting kisses along it, before she felt a light touch on her chin. Taka, scarlet eyes hooded with desire, turned her face towards him and plunged his tongue between her lips, pulling her close and gripping her lower back tightly. His sudden confidence made her stomach flip. 

He broke their kiss to moan her name, his head falling back as she felt him tense up. His hand moved from her clit, but she was so close to release that the friction was no longer necessary. She mumbled words of encouragement against his lips and felt one of his hands snake into her hair, the other cupping her rear, squeezing as he finally reached orgasm. The feeling of him pulsing inside of her pushed her into her own climax and she gripped his raven locks, gasping his name and smiling, relishing her ecstasy.

Once calm had settled, Taka looked up at her and grew tomato red seeing her hovering over him, chest heaving as she caught her breath. Nami rose from the couch, gripped Taka’s hand with a tired smile, and led Taka to the restroom. She turned on the shower and stepped in, waving him in after her. His feet felt like lead as he followed her into the tub. She sighed, face upturned as the water washed over her. Her back was to Taka and he stood there, admiring the muscles in her back for just a moment. It took him awhile to realize she was watching him over her shoulder. He blushed, and she turned and wrapped her arms around his waist, pulling him into a gentle hug and resting her head against his chest, just for a moment, before they tidied up and stepped out. Nami wrapped herself in a fluffy white bathrobe and a towel around a shivering Taka.

The two stepped out of the bathroom, a comfortable silence between them. Taka just wasn't sure what to say, he never pictured himself in this situation. Nami lent him some baggy pajama pants and an oversized t-shirt, giggling at the sight of him looking so untidy. She donned PJs as well and invited him into the bed. They were both suddenly overcome with exhaustion. Nami nuzzled into Taka’s chest humming softly to herself, a smile playing across her lips.

“I-I’m new to relationships…” Taka broke the silence, and Nami looked at him with sleepy eyes as he spoke. “... so I don't know if it's too early to say… I love you.”

He looked away, embarrassed, and Nami smiled before planting a soft kiss on his chin. 

“I love you too, Taka.”

He couldn't help but beam down at her, wrapping his arms tightly around her and hugging her into his chest. He kissed the top of her head and his eyes fluttered shut.

“Do you know what you’re gonna do after graduation yet?” He mumbled into her hair.

“Yeah,” Nami said around her grin, “I’m going to stay here I think, as a talent-scout.”

“That’d suit you, I think…” Taka was growing quieter and quieter as he drifted off to sleep, Nami quick to follow. 

The next morning, for the first time in his life, Kiyotaka Ishimaru slept in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! This was a little rushed in some areas but I still wanted to get it all published. I may write an epilogue some time in the future, but don't hold your breath...


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